yummy treats in uji

for some more pictures from this mini-adventure, please visit:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038073&l=639c7&id=4404537

i met up with several of my friends to see mia and hang out in her home away from home [uji]  after a 30-min jr train ride.  we enjoyed a yummy lunch at a little corner restaurant, followed by delicious softserve ice-cream ~ matcha and houji-flavored! [different kinds of green tea] afterward, we strolled over bridges around the river until we made our way downtown again. walking through the streets, shopkeepers were eager to prepare green tea samples for us to try. as common courtesy, we bought small souvenirs for our host families from many of these little stores. 

fun fact: the tale of genji was mainly set in uji.